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Critically Recognized
  • The Closest I've Come by Fred Aceves book cover
  • The Closest I've Come by Fred Aceves book cover
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The Closest I've Come

by Fred Aceves

Finding room to imagine a future

$14.82 USD
$24.71 USD $14.82 USD
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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Editorial selection

    Kirkus Best Book of 2017

    Named a Kirkus Best Book of 2017.

  • Critical praise

    Kirkus starred review

    Kirkus praised the book as “heart-wrenching, funny, hopeful, and not-to-be-missed” in a starred review.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Finding room to imagine a future

Marcos Rivas wants to leave Maesta, where his mother’s abusive boyfriend and her indifference make home feel like a place he needs to escape. A new after-school program brings Zach and Amy into his life, opening up friendships beyond his existing circle and prompting him to think about what comes next. The description connects Marcos’s changing sense of the future with a broader question of bravery: whether it means performing toughness or being true to himself. Alongside material worries such as a broken phone and worn-out sneakers, the story takes up belonging, abuse, friendship, and the boundaries—real and imagined—that shape a young person’s view of what is possible.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teen readers interested in stories about friendship, self-discovery, and imagining a different future.
  • Readers seeking young adult fiction that addresses family abuse and emotional hardship.
  • Readers interested in characters navigating boundaries between their neighborhood, peer groups, and personal ambitions.

Themes

Family abuse and emotional hardshipFriendship and belongingIdentity and self-discoveryBravery and masculinityFuture possibilities and boundaries

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A Kirkus Best Book of 2017 * A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year * An ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection

Read the book Morris Award finalist Sonia Patel called "a brilliant, subtle debut," and Kirkus hailed as "heart-wrenching, funny, hopeful, and not-to-be-missed" in a starred review!

The Closest I've Come is a must-read from talented first-time author Fred Aceves, in the tradition of Walter Dean Myers.

Marcos Rivas yearns for love, a working cell phone, and maybe a pair of sneakers that aren't falling apart. But more than anything, Marcos wants to get out of Maesta, his hood, away from his indifferent mom and her abusive boyfriend--which seems impossible.

When Marcos is placed in a new after-school program, he meets Zach and Amy, whose friendship inspires Marcos to open up to his Maesta crew, too, and starts to think more about his future and what he has to fight for. Marcos ultimately learns that bravery isn't about acting tough and being macho; it's about being true to yourself.

The Closest I've Come is a story about traversing real and imagined boundaries, about discovering new things in the world, and about discovering yourself, too.

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In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

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